Frequently purchased together

Description

Chief of charging.

Chief of charging, king of the freeride castle, executive of big-mountain shred...okay, you get the idea. As Ride's stiffest binding, the Ride El Hefe Snowboard Binding delivers the instantaneous response and ultra-damp feel needed to dismantle gut-wrenching steeps, pow-choked chutes, and stacked pillow lines. Designed with Ride's Aluminum Infinity Chassis, the El Hefe is extremely responsive and super tough, allowing you to ride 'em hard and fast without worry, as backed by Ride's lifetime warranty on baseplates and heelcups. Moreover, this binding mounts to both 4-hole and Channel boards with its Forged Aluminum Micro-Disc. This micro disc is 30% smaller than your average mounting disc, allowing you to maximize the true flex of your board.

Re-thinking the way carbon highbacks are constructed, the design gurus at Ride joined vibration-dampening urethane with highly responsive carbon. Carbon provides the next-level response for turning on a dime, while the layered urethane absorbs shock from high-speed riding, choppy snow conditions, and heavy landings. Adding even more padding into the picture, you'll find super-cushy Wedgie footbeds that are canted at 2.5 and 4-degrees for proper knee alignment. Rock the 2.5-degree footbeds for normal stance widths or swap in the 4-degree footbeds if you're running a wide stance.

Dialing-in a supportive fit, the binding's ThinFlex ankle strap comfortably conforms to your boot without pressure points, while its FlipSide mount keeps it out of the way when you're strapping in. Additionally, you'll find the ThinGrip toe strap to be extremely comfortable with its extremely flexible, super-grippy rubber. Both straps are tool-less adjustable for fine-tuning on the slopes. As a bonus, the El Hefe bindings come with a premium case for storing these beauties in timeless style.

Here's what others have to say...

View

Expected more

Gender:
Male

Familiarity:
I returned this product before using it

I had to order these to check them out. There aren't any shops in my area that stock this binding and I was very curious. Overall I'm not as impressed as I was expecting or rather hoping to be. There are some pros and cons to this binding, but to me the cons outweighed the pros so I sent them back. Keep in mind, I haven't ridden them, just inspected them, however I've been riding for ~25 years, so I can anticipate what I'd get out of them.

These bindings are pretty lightweight, but in my hands, they didn't seem much lighter if any than this season's union T. Rice bindings I compared them against.

I do like the canted footbeds, and also, the asymmetrical highback is slightly canted... I have not seen any mention of this, even in ride's video.. I thought that was a pretty cool feature.

The footbeds are nice and plush and the toe strap looks super comfy and grippy, some buddies of mine ride the capo's and love them. I found the ankle strap to be a little too minimalistic. It just seems like when really digging into a deep toeside turn, there might not be enough support, but that is just based on appearance. I haven't been able to test.

My biggest issue with these is the LACK of adjustability. The baseplate and heel cup have some room to adjust, but, the ankle strap is non-negotiable. It's fixed in its position so if you prefer it a little higher on your boot, you're SOL.

Also, the highback rotation is just simply lacking, it almost defeats the canted highbacks purpose. I can't align it w/the heel side edge of the board enough to be happy, it's not that it's too stiff, it's the mechanism that attaches the highback to the heelcup. I'm just not impressed with the engineering behind it.

Finally, the tool-less forward lean adjustment from previous seasons has been removed in place for a forward lean that requires a philips head... very disappointing for on the fly adjustments.. b/c there aren't any!

If you're willing to overlook these issues then these might be the right binding for you, but to me, they just didn't live up to the hype, especially at this price point. Overall, I was expecting more from Ride's highest end binding. I think you're essentially paying for the Carbon and the nifty Case. Just a little Disappointed.

Hi, Soul Position,(SP),you explained you've been rideing for 25yrs and sent them back because of your thoughts on how they might be.Sounds to me you have become to set in your ways and what you like.Can i ask if you notice a progression in your ability from year to year?If not then thats why? How can you comment on a product when you have'nt even tested it.If you were a pro rider and made those comments i'd still say the same thing. I myself have been rideing for 20 yrs and was very set in my ways.Progression was slow.In the last 8 yrs have progressed more and more each yr because of trying diferrent gear and set ups to wat i thought worked b4.And that could change from day to day with snow conditions and where on the mountain.I have two boards,one for all mountain hard charging and one for all mountain with more playful intententions that i can take into the park.These set ups are always changeing.Any smart boarder carries a tool,not only for adjustments but screws and bolts come loose even with locktite. I bought set of El Hefe's last year and they are undoubtably the best binding ive use'd.Yes they are a very stiff rig ,heel to toe,however i have put them to the limits and they keep supriseing me on how much flex on twist they can provide.which to me makes them unbelieveably responsive,some might say scary to start with but thats all part of progression .once dialled in that becomes your advantage. As for the highbacks,they are adjustable.The thread on the houseing that fits into the highbagh is off centred so buy installing them opposite each side of the allows you to twist the highback to get those puppies in line with your heelside.If not perfect,very close to.When doing thisthey might not feel like they want to go but trust twist em in there they wont break. Your ankle straps shouldnt need to be any higher ,they are ankle straps not lower shin straps. Anyway,i know every rider is different,but Ride's El Hefe rat a solid 5 out of 5,give em a try.But putting them on a board is recomended. Cheers, Ride2153 Advanced,Ride Berzerker, El hefe's Ride Dh2, Rodeos. P.S;keep charge'n

Thanks for your comment, as I read it, I'm trying to decipher how condescending you're being. However, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that it can be easy to misinterpret tone and demeanor online.

The thought of carrying a tool hadn't ever occurred to me in 25 years so thanks for that suggestion! Even though it's in my pocket or pack, I don't think I should have to pull it out every time I want to make an adjustment to my forward lean. Which can be several times throughout the day based on what I'm doing. What's even worse is that it used to be tool-less!

As for me, my progression comes through working on my abilities and techniques that I have identified as areas of improvements. Granted, gear can assist in this but riding the newest pair of bindings isn't going to improve your switch riding if you've never worked on it. The binding isn't going to help me all that much in working on my technique for a cab 3. I've seen guys stomp the shit out of great tricks in some vintage gear that is 20 years old, and ride hefe's didn't make the difference. Perhaps that's just me and my riding style, but I build my progression through work, not gear.

I have a list of things to work on almost every time I go to the mountain, and parts of my day will be allocated to achieving my goals. I love discussing the sport and am always open to advice, insight and learning so I appreciate your suggestions and methods.

As for the bindings themselves, you are correct, I haven't ridden them, and I believe I stated that several times. I made my assessment without getting to ride them. However, I still stand by my analysis for the binding at that price point.

Regarding ankle straps, there are plenty of manufacturers that allow you to make adjustments to the positioning and angle of the strap. Smart riders know that no two people are exactly the same, in build, height, weight etc. Let alone their gear, I have yet to find two boots from two manufacturers to be exactly the same, so when someone else needs to make adjustments, the option should be there.

The highbacks use a piece of metal that's shaped to the cutout to attach to the heelcup. Also, that metal has to sit flush in the hole so essentially have 2 options on your rotation, w/the screw on one end or the other... there's not a lot of in between adjustment so while you can get the highback to rotate, it doesn't have the precision that others do.

I'm glad you rate these so highly and I am truly glad that you get such satisfaction and enjoyment out of them. You are 100% correct in the fact that every rider is different. If I get the chance to test these out I certainly will I have little doubt they'll perform very well however as i've said multiple times... I just didn't think the price point was worth it, Too bad they don't have my size now that they're 35% off otherwise my review might have been slightly different.

I just ordered these bindings..Soulposition is totally right. Compared to other stiff bindings like the Burton Diode, the El Hefe are too heavy. I think they are even heavier than my Spark Afterburners... Not much to adjust..The case looks nice, but a photocopy as instructions? I ride since 1988 and mostly big mountain..